Scientists warn that the time to act is now

Climate change impacts are occurring earlier than scientists had forecast. And disasters such as floods across Asia and fires in North America can be linked to global warming with increased certainty.

In this scenario, halving global emissions of greenhouse gases over the next decade is technically achievable and will save the world billions of dollars, say scientists from Future Earth, an international collective of experts.

Speaking on the sidelines of the December 2-14 UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, Johan Rockström, Co-Chair of Future Earth and Chair of the Earth League, said, “Emissions must peak by 2020.

The world cannot allow climate catastrophe to unfold when all the solutions to solve this challenge are here in front of us.”

While the annual summit enters its second week with negotiations deadlocked over which country should do how much and pay how much, Future Earth Executive Director Amy Luers said, “Our analysis of the most recent research shows that a global transition to clean energy is affordable, achievable, and already underway.